A West London council has been censured by a local government watchdog after it removed a pregnant, homeless woman from its housing list without informing her. Hounslow Council was found at fault for its failure to properly communicate with the mother, identified as Miss H, regarding her housing application.
Background of the Case
Miss H first applied to join the council’s housing register in 2022. Around the same time, she sought homelessness advice from Hounslow Council after her mother asked her to move out. The local authority accepted its duty towards her due to her homelessness, subsequently cancelling her initial housing register application as the homelessness application took priority.
However, Miss H was not informed of this change. In May 2024, at which point she was pregnant, had older children, and was still living with her mother, Miss H contacted the council to check on the status of her housing application she initially raised in 2022. The council then informed her that the 2022 application had been cancelled and advised her that she could not make another application because she was not working.
Complaint and Ombudsman Ruling
Miss H filed a formal complaint against the council, stating she was not notified that her application had been cancelled. She also alleged that the council’s housing allocations policy discriminated against pregnant women on maternity leave. In its first response, the council apologised for failing to notify her that the application was closed, but noted that she likely would not have been accepted onto the register since she was unemployed.
When Miss H escalated the complaint, the council’s second response clarified that the employment restriction is only applied to Band 3, and asserted that the policy did not breach equality duties as it had carried out an equalities impact assessment. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman evaluated whether the policy directly discriminated against Miss H and found that it did not.
Council's Defense and Remedy
The council was ruled to have followed government guidance explicitly encouraging housing authorities to give extra priority to working households. Importantly, the council provides an alternative route for applicants with protected characteristics, which acts as a safety valve to alleviate any indirect discrimination caused by the policy. Hounslow Council also informed the Ombudsman that it was highly unlikely any applicant in Band 3 would receive a three-bedroom social housing property regardless of wait time, but proposed presenting Miss H’s case to this Exceptional Needs Referral Panel.
The Ombudsman ruled that the council was at fault for its lack of communication in failing to notify Miss H that her housing application was closed, and that this fault caused an injustice. To remedy the situation, the council agreed to apologise to Miss H and write to her offering the opportunity to apply for the Exceptional Needs Referral Panel. Hounslow Council was contacted for comment.
